As parts of the Trump administration’s Protect Life rules have gone into effect, particularly one that prohibits recipients of Title X family-planning funds from performing abortions or referring for abortions, the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has announced that it will not comply with the new rules and will forfeit federal funding of about $60 million when it withdraws from the program. This comes on the heels of the firing of its president, who evidently believed the PR spin that the organization intended to follow an announced strategy of being a mainstream health care provider and not merely an abortion activist.
These choices made by Planned Parenthood highlight the mission conflict and it’s pretty clear that the advocacy wing has won the debate for now, which exposes the lie that abortions are only an incidental part of its mission. Of course, the advocacy crowd argues that the segregation of funding is unnecessary because the Hyde Amendment prevents federal funding of abortions, but clearly the funding is fungible among programs. This fight will continue, but this is a big win for the conscience rights of pro-life Americans.